Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette: Review and Swatches

I bid you all a very warm welcome back to Fashioneyesta, I’m rather astounded I haven’t posted a blog since the beginning of January. As many of you know not only do I write this blog, run a YouTube channel and co-run a podcast channel, but I also study for a Masters Degree. I’m in the profession of writing and I have to write for my studies on a daily basis, so sometimes I find myself suffering from the dreaded ‘writers blog’ and cannot bring myself to write a blog.

However, all this is going to change, I want to make a conscious effort to return and post a lot more review blogs, outfit of the day blogs, disability blogs and much more. So I’m going to aim to post at least once a week like I do over on my YouTube channel, as I feel that I have been neglecting my first baby over the last few months. A thought that I do not relish to mull over.

However, today I am back with a makeup review, I always get requests to do these types of blogs and whenever I discuss reviews on my blog I always seem to get a very positive response. So, today I am going to be reviewing one of the most coveted makeup products on the high end market. That is, the HourglassAmbient Lighting Palette.

This palette has been a firm favourite among beauty bloggers and makeup artists alike for a while now in the beauty scene. I had been toying with the idea of purchasing it myself and finally last year for my birthday I received it as a gift. Therefore, I have had over 6 months to trial this product and to give you an honest verdict of whether I think it is worth the hype. Although, I am a beauty blogger who tends to only review products on my blog if I absolutely think they are worth the effort of writing about. So, I think its safe for you to assume that I did find some positive things about this product whilst testing it.

Hourglass is an amazing luxury beauty brand, all of their products are cruelty free and vegan friendly. They merge active ingredients with scientific formulas to create makeup that makes the skin look perfected and flawless. However, the makeup is also kind to blemish prone skin and contains no added fragrance oils. Hourglass is best known for their face powders which come in an array of colours and finishes to give different effects to the skin. They have been created to set the makeup on the face, whilst catching and diffusing the natural light to give different finishes to the skin. The brand created a palette which contains three of their Ambient Lighting Powders, 2 of which are current bestselling powders in Dim Light and Radiant Light and one which is exclusive to the palette in Incandescent Light.

This palette costs £59 and is also Paraben, talc, fragrance, nano-particle and gluten free.

Now, lets first of all start with the packaging, that may seem irrelevant to some. But, when you are spending almost £60 for a palette I think every single detail contributes to it. After all, you may decide to buy this as a gift for someone. Now when you open the gold metallic packaging it comes in the actual palette is designed in a dark brown reflective case with a tint of gold to it. The words ‘Hourglass’ are printed on the right side of the palette and the palette itself is very compact and lightweight. The mirror is also of a fair sized, making it handy for traveling and each powder is divided into separate pans.

Now, lets get into the science of these powders, although I am not into the profession of the science of cosmetics so I will not be able to go into extensive detail about how these products work so well. But, in short these powders utilise something called ‘photoluminescent technology’ which comprises of micron-size, soft-focus particles that reflect the light and appear transparent and undetectable on your skin. So, unlike other fishing powders that are made with opaque pigments that sit in the fine lines and wrinkles of our skin, these powders softly refract the light and brighten the complexion to create an ever so soft-focus halo effect on your skin. These powders are also universal meaning that they have been designed to suit every skin tone with their subtle finish.

What I love most about these powders is how easy they are to blend into the skin and to merge with your natural skin tone. You can really make these powders appear in synergy with your complexion, there is no effort required to blend them into the skin and they do honestly appear translucent once you blend them in with a fluffy powder brush. The powders don’t sit in the fine lines and wrinkles of your face, they simply glide over the skin to give a luminous, radiant finish.

I utterly hate matte powders that make your skin appear clogged and cakey after a long period of wearing them. So, these powders are perfect to set your makeup and keep it in place, particularly under your eyes and around the nose. Yet, they have a lightweight and breathable feel and they give your skin a flawless glow. Even though they certainly do have different finishes, when they are applied onto the skin there is no trace of powder or product. Making your skin look perfected and healthier.

These powders are certainly for those of you who like a more dewy finish to the skin or someone who likes a luminous finish. I personally do, so these powders work perfectly for me as I don’t suffer with oily skin.

Swatches and Swatch Descriptions

Below are swatches of what each colour appears like on my pale, pink toned skin. However, I have also described each shade for those of you who have limited vision like myself and therefore cannot see the swatches.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Swatches

Radiant Light: A warm golden based beige colour which can be used all over the skin on top of bronzer or on bronzed skin to create a natural, sun-kissed glow.

Incandescent Light: A pearl toned powder that can be used to highlight under the eyes, on the cheekbones or all over if you have paler skin to create an etherial glow.

Dim Light: A natural peach toned beige powder that can be used all over to blur out imperfections, set makeup and warm up the complexion to create a radiant finish.

I use each of these shades for different purposes, I particularly like to use Incandescent Light to set my under eye concealer as it gives a beautiful luminous glow to the skin and it is the perfect colour for that area. But, I also use it all over the skin and on the high points of my cheekbones. This colour works very well with my pale skin as the pigment is very light and blends in seamlessly to my skin.

I use Radiant Light on an everyday basis for all over my skin as I tend to wear bronzer and I find this makes my skin appear really healthy and sun kissed. Radiant Light is hands down my absolutely favourite and most used out of all the colours, I absolutely love the slightly gold, soft focus shimmer it gives to my skin. In the photograph below I am wearing Radiant Light.

Yet, I also love to wear Dim Light as it has the right amount of peach in it to suit my pink toned skin, however I find that I wear Dim Light in the Summer more because it is the darkest out of all the colours. Dim Light is a very warm toned colour so its great if you want to warm up your complexion, especially if your skin is looking a little sallow or dull this Winter. So, I also tend to use Dim Light when my skin is looking and feeling a tad worse for wear.

Final Scoring

Now, to give you my final verdict…

Accessibility: 5/5

This product is very easy to distinguish with its rounded rectangular packaging and each colour is clearly separated into different sections. The product is easy to open and also has a fair sized mirror on the inside.

Ease of Application: 5/5

These are without a doubt the easiest face powders I have ever used, they are incredibly quick and effortless to apply. They require minimal blending and their translusent finish means that you do not have to worry about having any lines of product on the face. They blend seamlessly into the skin and give your skin the most beautiful, luminous finish.

Value for Money: 5/5

For me personally, I certainly think you get what your paying for with these products they are excellent quality, lightweight and easy to use. You only require a very small amount of the product, so they last you a very long time.

Overall Quality: 5/5

All in all I have been incredibly impressed with these powders, I love the quality, the finish they give to the skin and how they really set your makeup beautifully. For me, after 6 months of using this palette I can declare that it is certainly worth the hype.

So, that concludes my blog for today, I really hope you found this useful and its given you some ideas about this palette. I know buying high end makeup can be a difficult choice, so hopefully this blog post will enable you to make an informed decision about whether this palette is for you or not.

I will be doing a lot more reviews on this blog and over on my YouTube channel. So, be sure to subscribe to my blog to get all the latest content from me.